• Do you love Genealogy? Why not write for us? we're looking for volunteers to write articles for Family history. Please contact us for further information.

THEATRICAL FAMILY-NAME CHANGING AFTER BIRTHS

Posts
72
Likes
0
Location
Orpington
#1
Hello Family History UK Forum

We have a theatrical family that was previously unknown to us!

Please help find Eliza Priscilla Thrasher born 1869 London after 1891
her daughter is Violet Alice Louise Jezard, born out of wedlock

Please help find Violet Alice Louise Jezard born 1890 London after 1901
Violet is given false parents on her birth certificate and baptism and hidden from the 1891 census - why?
Violet is born in Finborough Road and Sacillia Lovell registered at that address is not found on any other records - why?
The Thrasher family change their name when Violet is born, to hide her birth or hiding from debts?

Horace Thrasher born 1893, later known as Horace Courtenay
Horace is given false parents on his birth certificate and baptism, why
Mother Alice Thrasher born 1871 London later known as Grace Courtenay
Grace married step-father Herbert Solomon in 1901
Horace and Violet are sent to a girls boarding school in Southend in 1901, why
Being age 7 and illegitimate his father could remove him from his mother, did the mother move him and give them alternative names to hide them or the father move him to give him a better start in life
Grace is living in a boarding house in Kensington living on own means in 1901 the family rumour that Horace was the son of an Earl or an illustrious member of the aristocracy, a person of considerable note.
The Thrasher family change their name when Horace is born, to hide his birth or hiding from debts.

Please help find Edward Leslie Court born 1905 London after 1926
Mother Ruby/Ruth Court (maiden names Ruth/Ruby Thrasher/Jezard), father Albert Edward Court Chief Of Staff London Coliseum
Ruth emigrated to America in 1905/1912 and had a common law marriage with also married Edward Warren Congdon a theatre booking manager, she was herself an actress/dancer and died in San Fransisco in 1968
Albert died in 1923
Edward emigrated to Canada in 1926

Eliza, Alice and Ruth's sister Louisa married Percy Atkins a theatrical business manager at the London Lyceum, The Globe (we have a silver bowl with The Globe Club engraved underneath, the bowl looking like the beautiful domed theatre ceiling) and other London theatres.

The sisters parents are Robert Thrasher and Priscilla May Pope, who were also probably not married as no marriage certificate can be found - but according to the Charles Booth survey the Thrasher family live in wealthy, respectable areas of London.

The Thrasher family are known as Torplow/Triplow, Jezard and Courtenay.

Thank you for your help!​
 
Posts
72
Likes
0
Location
Orpington
#2
Violet Alice Louise Jezard born 1890 London, baptised 1896 with Horace
Birth certificate parents Eliza Thrasher now Eliza Jezard, husband Alfred Jezard
Baptism parents May Jezard and George Jezard
Eliza and Alfred are not married - Alfred doesn't exist
Violet and Alfred do not appear on the 1891 census
Eliza is living with her family - is Violet upstairs in a room just not noted down for the census
Eliza's mother is Priscilla May Thrasher (Pope) born 1841 Hartest and Priscilla has a brother called George Pope - could these be the baptism 'parents'
In the 1881 census a brother Alfred Pope is visiting but looking at all the censuses for Priscilla's Pope family there is no Alfred and checked out baptisms in between each census

Horace Thrasher born 1893 London, baptised with Violet 1896
Birth certificate parents Grace Courtenay, now Grace Thrasher, father Robert Thrasher (Grace Courtenay is Alice Thrasher, Robert Thrasher is Alice's father)
Baptism parents Percy Thresher and Louisa Thresher (this is Percy Frederick Atkins and Louisa Thrasher Alice's sister who marry in 1905)
When Alice marries as Grace Courtenay in 1901 she calls her deceased father Robert Courtenay - we think Robert Thrasher who dies in 1879 is our Robert who on the death certificate is a fireman, a theatre fireman as the fire brigade have no records of him

Horace and Violet are living with their grandmother Priscilla May Thrasher but now known as Priscilla Jezard living in 133 Finborough Road
Priscilla dies in 1900 the widow of John Jezard (is this Robert Thrasher, when her daughter Ruth/Ruby marries as Ruby Jezard she calls her father Robert Jezard) but again no marriage for Priscilla and John and her daughter in law with her at her death was Ellen Jezard (is this Eliza) who again doesn't exist, so perhaps another reason why the children are sent to a boarding school having no-one to care for them when their mothers are working but why Southend and why a girls boarding school for Horace - he hated it there apparently!

Thanks again for your help!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Posts
72
Likes
0
Location
Orpington
#3
With Horace, the Earls Of Devon are styled as Lord Courtenay - there was an Earl who was known to have several illegitimate children in the 1890's - the Earl died in January 1891 and unfortunately Horace was born in January 1893 - even if Horace's mother had not registered Horace's birth in a timely manner it's stretching the imagination too far for this man to be the father - unfortunately the next very religious Earl destroyed any papers relating to these illegitimate children. When asking if the family knew anything about Horace Courtenay born in 1893 the Earls Of Devon did ask 'is he one of ours' ! When Horace died in 1959 his solicitors were unable to trace his birth certificate as he had been registered as Horace Thrasher, the earliest we know Horace as Horace Courtenay is 1901.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Posts
72
Likes
0
Location
Orpington
#5
So sorry, keeping getting lots of Ooppss messages, trying to post minimal threads is proving to be very difficult and replying too.
If anything please just use the Who Do You Think You Are research on Jessie Almer - found her quite by chance looking at our relative Ruth Jezard and from that lots of information about Ruth with the Jessie Almer and their manager Charles Hedersley associations.
Would love to know please what happened to:
Eliza Thrasher born 1868, found with family but as Torplow/Triplow in 1891 census but then disappears
Violet Alice Louise Jezard born 1890, found on 1901 census but then disappears
Edward Leslie Court born 1905, found on 1911 census, emigrates to Canada in 1926 and then disappears
Our dearest wish would be to know who was Horace Thrasher's father born 1893, but then known as Horace Courtenay - he told his son that would tell him his secret before he died but unfortunately died very suddenly - Horace had told only one other relative his secret that was to be kept until Horace's wife died and that is when we were told that Horace's father was an illustrious member of society a person of considerable note. We contact the Earls Of Devon known as Lord Courtenay and they asked is Horace Courtenay 'one of ours' - but their Earl who died in January 1891 couldn't be Horace's father as Horace was born in January 1893 - Horace's mother couldn't have registered his birth that late - could she? The next Earl Of Devon was very religious and destroyed documents on the other known illegitimate children to his predecessor.
Robert Thrasher husband of Priscilla May Pope found in 1871 - can't find in 1861 or 1851 - who is he/his family background. No marriage for Robert and Priscilla - are they common-law husband and wife, suspect so as Priscilla supports her daughters Eliza and Alice when they have their children Violet and Horace out of wedlock.
I am obviously having great technical difficulties using this site, so please accept my apologies for posting hundreds of threads?? and not replying.
I will look at these threads but not use anymore, can't seem to fathom out what is going wrong except for lots of error messages coming up.
Thanks for your help in advance.

http://www.genealogistsforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=360100#post360100
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Posts
72
Likes
0
Location
Orpington
#7
Where does Sacilllia Lovell come into it? Did she register Violets birth?
Sacillia Lovell is just living at 109 Finborough Road with Eliza and Violet and now found on other London Electroral Registers in the Chelsea and Kensington areas as Cecilia Lovell - but no sensible census for her in 1891 or 1901 - just wondered who she was, her occupation if theatrical, if Sacillia/Cecilia is Eliza - no Sacillia didn't register the birth.
Sorry still getting error messages trying to post any sort of reply.
 

Similar threads

Top